Common hiring mistakes – how to avoid them

The hiring process can be a tricky one with lots of opportunity for mistakes. Check out these common hiring mistakes and learn how you can avoid them to be truly successful in your hiring process.

Thinking experience is all that counts

A lot of recruiters and hiring managers make the mistake of only deciding based on experience when choosing the perfect candidate for a job. The experience and skills need to be perfect for the job they are hiring for but the potential is often not considered. There might be candidates out there that might not have all the experience you need, but that have the potential to grow into that role and add so much more value to your company. Hence, in your next recruitment process, try to focus on potential as well instead of just hardcore experience.

Being too impressed by formal education

A great education is one thing, but it sure does not say everything about a candidate. Many recruiters and hiring managers are being overly captivated by formal education instead of looking beyond education as well. Of course, education is important but it does not say anything about the practical experience that a candidate has or the true value they can bring to your business. Also, some of the brightest and most innovative minds might not have access to good formal education due to their personal circumstances and this does not automatically mean they are not a good fit. Therefore, during your recruitment process, look beyond academics and focus on practical value they can bring to your business.

Ignoring cultural fit

This one is classical, by focusing too much on education, experience, skills and competences, the fit with your specific company often gets ignored. And frankly, this can break or make the success of this specific hire. We are not saying you should merely hire people you like and that fit in well with your company culture. However, you should not hire candidates either just based on hard criteria without looking at the more softer criteria of how well they would fit in at your company. If the cultural fit is not right, they might be leaving or you will have to force them to leave before you know it.

Ignore why the job is a good career step for the candidate

A candidate might be a perfect fit for the job in your eyes. Past experience that is required for the position, great skills and competences, and a pleasant person to work with. Sounds ideal right? However, is the job also a perfect fit for the candidate? Or do they just see this as a steppingstone to something better or to sit out some time? In order to get some clarity on this, make sure to always ask questions focused on these kinds of topics in your interviews. For example, why your company appeals to them and why the job they are interviewing for would be a good career step for them.

Not having a formal interview process

Many companies still think they can get away without a formal interview process. However, this means that you have no way to compare possible candidates for a job or judge them according to set criteria. Basically, it all goes at random and the process per candidate will differ. This is basics for good recruiting practices, so the first thing you will want to do is to set up a formal interview process for your business.

Relying on job posts only

The best candidates often are not looking for a new job. Hence, they won´t respond to the typical job posting, you need to go out there and find them. Instead of relying on your job posts, rely on your network and your employees´ networks to find the best possible candidate for the job!

What other hiring mistakes have you been making and how do you avoid them?

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